A New Home
by FlipWise
Summary: For years he's been holding back. Dallas wanted Johnny's misery end at his home. But how bad does he want it? Does he want it so bad that he would commit homicide?
1. Chapter 1

**A New Home**

**By FlipWise**

**I don't own any characters from The Outsiders.**

**_A/N: To fit the _story_ better, the events in the original book, The Outsiders, never took place. Thank You_**

It was a Saturday night. As usual the youth of Tulsa, Oklahoma were at their local hangouts. The Southside of town would attend "Rusty's" and the teenagers of the northern area would all meet at "The Dingo".

Or they might just all pile into each other's cars. To pull pranks or to just drive around. But both sides of town had one place that they would meet. The Nightly Double at the Drive in Movie Theater.

But there were four teenagers who were leaving the area right now. Four out of the six friends that usually hang out together. They were Johnny Cade, Keith "Two-Bit" Matthews, Ponyboy Curtis and Dallas Winston. The two youngest, Ponyboy and Johnny, were just listening to Two-Bit rattle on as Dallas pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"I don't see why we had to leave. The movie was good," complained Two-Bit cheerfully.

"It was dumb," said Dallas.

"But it was a waste," replied Two-Bit.

"Waste of what," laughed Ponyboy. "We didn't pay."

"Then it was a waste of time," concluded Dallas, and he pulled out his lighter to light his cigarette.

He offered his pack to the other three and Two-Bit was the only one who accepted. They all walked back to the parking lot to cram into Two-Bit's beaten-down car. With Dallas in the passenger seat, they drove towards the southern neighborhood.

To let some cool air in, Ponyboy rolled the window down and let the breeze run through his long brown hair. The then fifteen year old looked over to the side to see Johnny looking straight ahead, as if he was nervous.

All of his friends knew that Johnny had the worst home life of them all. You would think that Dallas' home life would be similar with his father ignoring his every move, but it pales in comparison. Whenever Johnny needed attention, it was never given. And whenever Johnny was given attention it was given negatively.

Everyone wished they could do something about it. Especially Dallas, who had been holding back ever since he first learned of what was going on in Johnny's life. He felt like blowing on them but held himself back for Johnny's sake. But his fuse was now short.

The car slowed down in front of the Cade household. For a change of scene, it was actually quiet in the house. The lights were still on but there wasn't a peep of shouting or shattering.

"Are you sure you want to go home tonight, Johnny?" asked Two-Bit.

"Y-yeah," he said being slightly surprised by the silence. "It's quiet tonight."

Johnny climbed out of the car and walked towards his front door. That's when Dallas spoke up.  
"Two-Bit. Let me out right here. I'll walk home."

Johnny didn't hear what was said in the car as he walked into the house. As soon as he entered, the scene seemed slightly different. He then heard Two-Bit's car drive off down the street. He was alone now.

Before he could take five steps towards his bedroom, his mother came out from the kitchen. As he turned his he saw a look in his mother's eyes that were fiercer than Dally's when he was angry.

She came at him quickly and he took a quick glance at what was in her hands. In her right hand there was a metal pole with blood on it, and in her left hand there was a…

Johnny's eyes widened and before he could fully comprehend what was in her hand, she swung the metal pole against the side of his head and he collapsed right there on the floor; unconscious.

It felt like almost instantly, his eye sight faded from black, but the scenery was still slightly dark. He also felt himself bobbing up and down. He realized that he was on somebody's back and they were carrying him. He made a slight noise and Northern accent said,

"Don't worry, Johnny. You're fine."

He recognized the voice as Dally's. What exactly was going on? Johnny felt himself being thrown into the back of a car and he just lied there. He had a terrible headache and didn't collect too many of his thoughts. He could barely remember what happened. He blacked out again. When he woke up, the scene was brighter and his headache was lighter.

He rose up looked outside to see Dallas leaning against the car, smoking another cigarette. Johnny got out of the car and asked.

"Dally. What's going on?"

Without even moving his head, Dallas answered with,

"We're out of gas."

Johnny looked around for a second and saw that they were out on the open road without a gas station in sight. He looked back at the eighteen year old.

"What happened?"

Dallas turned and looked at Johnny and before he could answer, siren could be heard down the street. Dally dropped his cigarette as Johnny turned around to see police cars stop near them. Four officers jumped out of the car as they whipped out their own pistols and yelled,

"Freeze! You! Get on the ground!"

Johnny had no idea who they were talking to and he got down also. He looked to the side, to see that Dallas was doing the same thing, with a calm look on his face. One of the officers then grabbed Johnny by his shirt and said,

"Come with me, son."

He looked back at Dallas and saw that they were putting handcuffs on him.

"So what'd you catch me for this time?" said Dally in a cocky voice and they threw him in the back of one of the vehicles.

Johnny looked at the officer that had grabbed his shirt.

"What did he do?" he asked.

The officer looked down at him and replied,

"You mean you don't know?" and Johnny shook his head. The officer sighed and said,

"For the murder of your parents."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

From the time that he heard the words "murder of your parents," Johnny face had gone blank; as well as his mind. The fact that his parents had just been murdered came out of no where. Plus they said that Dally murdered them. Something wasn't right. Something just wasn't right.

He knew that Dally had been upset about the way his parents treated Johnny. Everyone in the gang knew that. But they couldn't do a thing about it. Not even Darry. They lived in the Northside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Adults only saw them as hoodlums, so if they one of them came with a story of abuse, no one would believe them.

Greasers were pretty much left on to fend on their own. Like Dally and Tim Shepard. Johnny almost believed once that they didn't even live with their parents. Tim seemed to be the one taking care of his younger brother and sister while Dallas just lived wherever he could for the night. There were a few exceptions like Two-Bit's mother who continued to let him live in her house even though he was about a year or two behind from graduating. And the Curtis brothers' parents, who died in an accident last year, were pretty much doing a good job of taking care of their children. Steve's dad was just in between, with how he would yell at him one night and then pay him so he'll come back home.

As Johnny rode in the passenger side of the car, he took a glance in the rear view mirror and noticed the second police car behind them. That was the one that was carrying Dally. Did he really do it? He was so calm about the situation. Johnny never knew Dallas to kill someone. Maybe beat someone so bad that they wished he had killed them, but never a murder.

As he was pondering this, the car pulled up to the police station in Tulsa. This scenery was all too familiar to Dallas. The officer told Johnny to follow him into the building and Johnny did so. While walking, he noticed the other officer pulling Dally out of his car; still handcuffed.

When all four were inside, they led both Johnny and Dallas into separate rooms. Before he entered their different chambers, they looked each other in the eye and then moved on. Johnny was sat down in a chair. The room was dark with only one ceiling light to illuminate the area. He knew what was going to happen. Johnny was going to have questions asked to him.

Johnny's stomach tightened and he began to sweat. The cop hadn't even asked him a single question and Johnny was already nervous. You would have thought that it was him that committed homicide to his parents.

The cop took a seat opposite to him and looked Johnny in the eye. This made him even more nervous.

"So you know about what happened last night?"

Johnny barely nodded his head. This was all too much for him. His parents had just been murdered and now he's being interviewed by this cop who had a look that was all too intimidating.

"So what can you tell us? When was the last time you saw your parents."

Johnny was quiet. He couldn't speak, let alone get the answer in his head.

"Well!" yelled the cop, becoming anxious.

He jumped and a question popped into his head. After about a second, he stuttered it out.

"I-I saw my mom last night when I got home."

"Got home from where?"

"Th-the movies."

"Did your mother say anything to you?"

"No. She-she only does when she's mad."

The cop looked at Johnny for a moment, as if he had heard this story before. Not even cops would believe a greaser.

"When was the last time you saw the murder?"

"Who?"

The cop dropped his hands as if Johnny gave him a stupid answer.

"The guy in the other room!"

The guy yelled so loud that Johnny got too uncomfortable. He didn't like this guy, not at all. He was too nervous to answer questions. It was too soon. Couldn't he do this another time? Any other time?

Suddenly the door opened and the cop turned around. There was the chief asking to see Johnny about something. The cop turned around to Johnny and whispered,

"I'm not finished with you yet."

Johnny got up and nearly ran out of that room. And he could even sense the cop's eyes trailing him as he exited the room. When he reached the police station a wave a relief shot down from his head to his toes. Right there at the entrance were the Curtis brothers: Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy.

These were three out of five of the human beings he had ever been most comfortable with. Darry was at the front desk signing a few papers while Soda and Pony were in a seat up front. The chief led him towards the youngest Curtis brothers and that's when Johnny noticed another individual at near them. It was middle aged lady dressed in blue dress with bifocals and a bun hairdo.

By the time he and the chief reached the three Darry had already finished signing and was making his way back to the front. That's when the chief spoke,

"Normally you would have been sent to foster care. But I've just been informed that the home is currently full and cannot take anymore children. So for the time being, you will be under custody of Darrel Curtis. Until Mrs. Thomas can find you a suitable foster home."

Suitable foster home? There wasn't any other place he had stayed that was better than the Curtis household. Johnny couldn't name a single area. That house was heaven compared to his parent's household. That wasn't his home. He looked at the Curtis brothers. Soda and Pony had a certain expression on their face. As if they took the adjective, 'suitable', to heart. He glanced at Darry. He kept his straight face, but Johnny Darry well enough that he was even disgusted by what the cop said. Darry put his arm around Johnny and then said,

"C'mon Johnny. Let's go."

With that, the four of them walked out of the station.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The ride home was equally quiet as the Cade household the previous night. Johnny surveyed the three individuals in the vehicle as they were heading towards his current household.

Ponyboy seemed to be cutting his eyes every once in a while. Knowing that staring at Johnny would not only be awkward but rude. Sodapop was a little slicker as he would glance at the rear view mirror to get a look at him. But Darry was the usual as he would just keep his eyes on the road. Johnny didn't mind it too much. They were just checking to see how he was. Of course, he couldn't even explain it how he felt. He couldn't put a finger on his mood.

To Johnny's surprise, they pulled up next to his parent's house. Then he quickly remembered that he would have to get some clothing since he was moving.

"Do you need any of us to come in with you?" asked Darry as he put the clutch in park.

Johnny shook his head and said quietly,

"I'll be fine."

Just as the cop looked at him as he walked out, Johnny could sense the Curtis brothers doing the same. When he got out the car, he had just noticed the changes to the household. The police had made their mark on the property as it was filled with police lines and they were walking around accompanied by detectives.

Johnny walked slowly towards the entrance, trying his best to ignore the looks from some of the others. He noticed that one of them started to head his way and his stomach churned. It did ease a bit when he saw that the man was stopped and heard someone say,

"That's the people's kid."

No one else attempted to stop him as he walked into the house and towards his room. The room was small but it just seemed different now. Usually after his parents abused him, he would come here to rest. But if it were any worse then he wouldn't stay in the house. But he this was a place that he pretty had to his own. Now it didn't seem like that type of place, just another room in the house.

He picked up a few of his t-shirts off of his dirty bed, which only had a mattress, a sheet that had been cleaner in it's time, and some old blanket he'd found in the lot one night while he was sleeping there. He decided he would take that with him, even though it made him feel like a four year old.

Johnny packed the rest of his clothing and started to head to the door. He felt like he was forgetting something, but he had no valuables in that house….

He instantly forgot that feeling when he walked into the living room. Something about it gave him an unusual feeling. Was it because this was the last place he had seen his parents? He wasn't even sure. He didn't want to think about it either. His head started aching as well. He walked back outside and towards Darry's truck. He threw the suitcase in the tailgate and Soda let him in the back beside Ponyboy. Darry then started to head off for home.

Later on that night, Johnny was lying face up on the couch, staring at the ceiling. He was actually waiting for a moment where he would grow tired, because sleeping was an uneasy task right now.

He tried to remember the details of that night. He wanted to see if he could put the pieces of the puzzle together. Let's see…He walked into the house and it was surprisingly quiet…His mother came around the corner…and….and…

Johnny struggled to figure out what happened next, but he just couldn't remember. This wasn't making too much sense. Why was the house so quiet? What did his mother do after she appeared in his face? And where did Dally get thrown into all this? As far Johnny recalled, he had left with Two-Bit and Pony.

Johnny rolled onto his side and stared out of the window. It was a perfect sight of the street. He hoped that Dally didn't kill his parents. Johnny would believe Dally if he said he didn't. If he knew Dally, he wouldn't lie about something like this. Maybe to a broad or two, or the fuzz if they were questioning him, but never to Johnny. He just wouldn't. And with his Dallas' rap sheet, they wouldn't ever believe a word he said.

He wanted to talk to somebody about it. He wanted to figure out this mystery. Maybe he should talk to Ponyboy. He's read a few mystery stories before, maybe he would know what to do…or better yet Darry. Every book that Pony had read, Darry had read. Plus he was a lot smarter and responsible. To Johnny, it always seemed like Darry would know what to do in a bad situation.

He decided that he would talk to Darry in the morning. Plus it will give everyone the chance to sleep on what just happened…including himself. That is, if he ever went back to sleep.


End file.
